Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA~E 195
~ELF-8T~BL~ MI~-CON~A~NIN~ BEVE~AGE PRO~UC~8 2 ~ ~ ~ 3
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to shelf-stable milk-
containing beverage products and to methods of producing the
same.
In producing milk-containing products that include a
flavoring that is acidic in nature, it has been difficult to
provide a shelf-stable product which is comparable to a
freshly made beverage. Such products include coffee-flavored
milk beverages and orange juliu~ which contain the acidic
flavorings coffee and orange juice. While beverage powders
and dried milk can be used to prevent degradation during
storage, reconstituting the beverage ~rom powders by dilution
with water has not provided entirely satisfactory results.
It is reported in U.5. Patent No. 4,980,182 that it has
not keen possible to produce acceptabl~ r~a~y-to-serve cafe au
lait products in~olving high temperature processing followed
by aseptic processing because of the development of both
physical and flavor defects. That patent relates to such
products in which the physical and flavor defects are improved
by utilizing a buffering agent capabl~ of buffering the coffee
acids to a pH of 6.6-6.8, kappa carrageenin in an amount of up
to 0.01%, and a chelating agent containing at least 0.005%
sodium alginate and/or propylene glycol alginate, the amounts
being by weigh~ based on th~ b~verage w~ight.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of tho present invention to provide an
aqueous acidic flavored milk-containing product that is shelf-
stable. The product can be in eithex a liquid concentrate or
ready-to-drink form.
It iS another object o~ the invention to provide a me~hod
for producing such a milk-containing product.
The present invantion providQs an aqueou~ sh~lf-stable
beverage produc~ comprising: water; ~ilk solid~, the milk fat
content o~ which is at least about 15~ by weight and th~ milk
protein content o~ which is at l~as~ about ~5% by w~ight based
- 2 - 2~3~
on the total weight o~ milk solids, the milk solids content of
the beverage product being at least about 1% by weight of the
beverage product, an acidic flavoring agent; a two component
stabilizing system comprising a fir~t component comprising one
or more monoglycerides and up to 10% by weight of diglycerides
based on the weight of the first component and a second
component comprising carrageenin or pectin or both; a
buffering system comprisin~ disodium phosphate and potassium
hydroxide, said potassium hydroxide being formed by the
thermal decomposition in the beverage product o~ potassium
bicarbonate, said disodium phosphate and potassium hydroxide
being presènt in an amount such that said shelf stable
beverage product has a pH o~ about 6.3 to about 6.5.
The present invention also provide~ a method for making a
sal f-stable beverage product comprising the steps of:
providing a homogenizad milk mixture comprising water, milk
solids and a two component stabilizer syste~ comprising a
first component comprising one or more monoglycerides and up
to 10~ ~y weight diglyceridQs based on the weight o~ th~ first
component and a second component comprising caEr2geenin or
p~ctin or both; providing a bufrered aqueous flavoring
solution containing an acidic ~lavoring agen~ and buffering
system comprising disodium phosphate and po~assium bicarbonate
in amounts such that the pH of th~ aqueou3 flavoring solution
is from 6.8 to 7.2: mixing aid homogenized milk mixture and
~aid aqueous flavoring ~ol~tion to form an intermediate liquid
mixture having a pH of fro~ 6.8 to 7.2; and heating said
intermediate liquid mixture at a te~perature and for a time
sufficient to therm~lly decompose substantially all of said
potassium bicarbonate to potassium hydroxid~ and carbon
dioxide such that th~ pH of the int~rmediate mixture i~ ~rom
6.3 to 6.5 and sufficien~ to form a shelf stable beverag~
product, said shelf stable beverage product containing at
least 1% by weight o~ milk solid~, thQ milk fat cont~nt of
said milk solid~ being at leas~ about 15% by w~iqht and ths
- 3 - 2~
milk protein content o~ said milk solids being at least about
25% by weight ba~ed on the total weight of milk solids.
DETAILED DESC~IPTION OF TH2 INVENTION
The milk solid~ used in the product and proces3 of the
invention may be provided by all ~orm~ of milk including whole
milk, condensed milk and dried milk powder. In the description
of the invention, the term "milk" will be used to describe an
aqueous dispersion of milk solid5, such a~ whole milk or dry
or condensed milk diluted with water. The amount of milk
solids in the final beverage product may vary widely but wi~l
suitably be from 1 to 5% by weight for a ready-to-drink
beverag~ and ~rom 2.5 to 25% by weight for a beverage
concentrate, based on the weight of the beverage product. In
co~'s milk tha total solids content of milk iR generally about
11-15%. Of the total milk solids, at least about lS~ o~ the
solids is milk fat and at least about 25~ is protein. To~al
milk fat content is typically fro~ 15 or 20 to 33% and total
protein content is typically 25 to 3~%, based on the weigh~ of
th~ total milk solids.
~ ilk i5 mixed with a two component stabilizer system and
homogenized to form a stabilized homog~nized milk mixture.
The stabilizer syste~ stabilizes the emulsion in th~ beverage
product produced ~ro~ the milk. One component o~ th~
stabilizer sy~tem is one or morQ monoglyceride~ whi~h may
contain up to about 10% by weight o one or more diglycerides.
The monoglycer~d~ co~ponent is preferably vegetable-derived
and i~ pr~ferably utilize~ in an amount o~ about 0.05 to 0.2S%
by weight ba~ed on th~ weight of a ready-to-drink b~verage
about 0.125 to 1.25% by w~ight in a beverag~ concentra~e, and
about 3 ~o 18%, preferably about 6 ~o 12%, by w~ight ba~d on
the weight of thQ milk fat. The monoglycerid~ component will
normally, but not nec~s~arily, have a diglyceride con~en~ of
up to 10% by weight based on th~ total weight of this
component.
3 ~ {J
-- 4 --
A monoglyceride is a mono-ester o~ gl~cerol and a ~atty
acid, a diglyceride being a di-e~ter formed by e~teri~ication
of glycerol with two fatty acid molecules~ Pref2rred
monoglycerides and diglycerides are those in which the fatty
acids have from lO to 22 carbon atoms, preferably ~rom 14 to
20 carbon atoms. The monoglyceride component can be a
monoglyceride of a single fatty acid but will normally and
preferably be monoglycerides of several dif~erent fatty acids.
The monoglyceride component will normally contain up to 10~ of
one or more diglycerides which are often present in
commercially available monoglyceride~. In that event, any
diglycerides are present in an amount of not more than 10% by
weight based on the weight of the mono- and diglycerides~
The second component is carrageenin or pectin or a
mixtura o~ th~ two. This component i5 preferably utilized in
an amount of fro~ O.OOS to 0. 2S% by w~ight based on the weight
oP a readyto-drink product about 0.0125 to l. 25% by weight
based on ~he weight of a beverage concentrate, and abou~ 0.5
to 10%, preferably about 1-5%, based on the weight of th~ milk
fat. At the higher end of this range, above about 0.05% in a
ready-to drink beverage, this compon~nt will contribute an
increased thickening of the product, creating a more creamy
consistency. Wh~n thQ two component~ are used in ad~ixture,
the amount of each i~ preferably at lea~t 10% by weight of the
mixture, and more prQfsrably th~ carrag~enin componQnt ic at
least 35% by w~ight of th~ mixture. Th3 carra~eQnin i~
preferably a mixtur~ o~ Xappa- and iota~carIa~eenin in ~hich
case th~ kappa-carrag~en$n content i~ preferably at least 40%
by weigh~, morQ pre~erably 50-90% by weight, ba~ed on th~
weight of the carrag~enin mixture.
Ths ~ilk is g2n~rally maintained at an elevated
temperatura dur~ng mi~ing wi~h th~ stabilizer~ in order to
facilitate dis301ution o~ th~ ~tabilizer~ in thQ milk mix~ure.
Typically, tha milk mixture is maintained at a t~mpera~ur~ of
about 150 to 175-F.
After mixing the stabilizer system with the milk, the
stabilized milk mixture is homogenized in order to f~rm a
homoganized milk mixture. It i5 preferred that ho~ogenization
be effected to produce a narrow size range of fa~ p~r~icle~
with at least 75~, preferably at lea~t 80%, and more
preferably at lea~t 85% ~y weight of the suspended ~ilk fat
particles being within a size range of 0.5 2 microns. Various
processe~ of and equipment for homogenizing milk can be used
in the method of the invention and these proce~ are well
known in the art. A conventional two stage homogenizer is
suitable.
The acidic flavoring agent of the invention can be any
such flavoring such as coffee, tea, orange juice, ru~,
amaratto, etc. that is used in a milk-containing beverage.
The term "acidic flavoring agent" as used herein means an
edible flavorlng agent which produces a pH of 5.5 or less when
added to water. A preferred flavoring agent is cof~ee in the
form of an aqueoug coffee extract that can be used to make a
shelf-stable coffee flavored beverage. While the de~cription
that follow~ focu~Qs on thQ u~e of coffee extract in the
beverage product of the invention, it should be under~tood
that other acidic flavoring agent~ can be u~ed.
The flavoring agent, for exampl~ coffe~ extraet, i~
combined with a particular buffering syste~ and with addad
water as appropriat~ to form an aqueou~ flavorlng solution
having a pH o~ about 6.8 to 7.2, mor~ prefera~ly 6.9 to 7.1,
and mo~t preferably about 7Ø
ThQ bu~fering mixture includ~q disodiu~ pho~phate and
potassium bicarbonate. Tha buffering mixture raiseR the pH
o~ tha agueous flavoring ~olution and, thereby, pr~ventQ the
acidic flavoring agent from curdling the milk when t~l8 milk is
mixed with the aqueous flavoring solution to form an
in~ermediate l$quid m~xture. Further, wh~n the potassium
bicarbonate thermally decompose~ during subsQquent ratorting,
the pH of the intermediate liquid mixture ad~u ts to a pH of
3 ~ ~
- 6 -
about 6.3 to 6.5 which imparts desirable organol~ptic
propertie~ to th~ beverage product o~ the invention.
The buf~ering compon~nts are utilized in an amount
sufficient to adjust the aqueous acidic flavoring solution and
the intermediate mixture to a pH of from 6.8 to 7.2, the
relative amounts o its two components being such that when
the potassium bicarbonat~ burfering component is decompose~
during heat treatment of the intermediate mixture, the pH of
the heat treated product is lowered to a value within the
range of 6.3 to 6.5. In the case of a ready-to-drink cof~ee-
based beverage product the disodium phosphate buffering
component is typically u~ed in an amount of 0.1 to 0.7%, for
example 0.1 to 0.2% by weight based on the weight of the
acidic aqueou~ coffee flavoring solution or about 0.03 to
0.2%, for example about 0.03 to 0.05~ by weight based on the
weight o the ready-to-drink cof~ee-based beverage product,
and th~ potassium bicarbonat~ buf~ering component is typically
used in an amount of 0.3 to 0.5%, for example about 0.35 to
O.4% by weight based on the weight of the aqueous acidic
cof~ee flavoring solution.
The aqueous ~lavoring solution is mi~ed wi~h th~
homogenized milk mixtura in a fini~hing tank to form an
intermediat~ liquid mixture having a pH of fro~ about 6.8 ~o
7.2. In this tank, additional flavoring~ and/or swee~eners
including both natur~l (a.g. ~uqar) and/or artificial
swe~tener~ may b~ add~d to th~ intermediate liquid mixture.
Flavoring~ and/or ~w~e~t~ner~ can also bQ added to th~ aquaous
acidic flavoring solution and/or to th2 ~ilk solutlon prior to
mixing with th~a milk. Suitable additional flavoring~ include
cinnamon, hon~y, 2tc. Th~ finishing tank is preerably
maintained at a t~p~rature of about 80 to 105-F, in order ~o
facilitate sub~Hquent rQtorting but without causing undu~
volatilization o~ flavor compon~nts.
In a pref~rred embodiment, after mixing tha ho~og~nized
milk mixtur~ and th~ aqu80u8 flavoring solution, the
intermediat~ liquid miactura i~ hermetically bottled or canned
~ 7 ~ 2~3-~a
~ld r~torted to sterilize the mil~ product and to thermally
decompose substantially all of the potassium bicarbonate to
form potassium hydroxide and carbon dioxide, thereby lowering
the pH in the beverage product so produced to about 6.3 to
6.5. Suitably the intermediate liquid mixture is retorted at
a temperature of about 240 to 252~F for 5 to 35 minute~,
preferably at about 246'F for 14 minutes, to sterilize the
beverage product and thermally decompose the potassiu~
bicarbonate. The beverage at this pH range provides de~irable
organoleptic charaoteristics. At a pH below 6.1, the ~ilk
will tend to curdle, while at a pH greater than about 7,
saponification will occur. Instead of rekorting the mixture
after bottling, ~he mixture can be aseptically proce~sed and
packaged in any approved conventional manner.
The carbon dioxide ~ormed during the the~mal decompo-
sition of the potassium bicarbonate function~ to lower ~he pH
and to reduce the amount of oxygen in the headspace. A
portion of the carbon dioxide will dissolve in the beverage
product, but th2 amount i~ not sufficient to provida a
carbonated beverage, while the major portion of the carbon
dioxide is present in the headspace of the container.
The retorting o~ the mixture ha~ the effect of rendering
the baverage product free o~ viabl~ form~ of microorgani~ms
having public healt~ significance. If thermophile~ survive
the retorting proces~ and are su~pected of being pre3ent in
the beverage, a sm~ll amount of a presQrvative such a~
a~corbyl pal~itata can ba add~d. An amount of about 0.02 to
Q.l~, preferably about 0.02 to 0.06% ~y weight of ascorbyl
palmitate ba~ed on th~ weight of tho beveragQ is suita~le.
The b~verage product ix sh~lf-stabl~. That i~, the
quality of the bev~rago product i~ ~table for a period of at
lea~t nine months at a temperatur~ of between about 35 and
about 90'F.
In a prefer~ed embodimant, the beverage product o~ the
inve~tion i~ in a ready-to drink for~. In it~ ready to drink
form, the beverage product of the inven~ion prafsrably ha~ a
- a
~otal solid~ content o~ about 8-18~ by weigh~ and a total milk
solids content of at least abou~ 1% by weight based on th~
weight of the beverage.
By controlling the ~ater content in the beverage produc~,
a liquid beverage concentrate can also be produced. In its
liquid concentrate form, the beverag~ product of the invention
preferably has a solids content of about 25-65% by weight.
A mocha flavored iced cappuccino be~erage is prepared.
An aqueous acidic flavoring solution is made up in a vessel ~y
adding to the vessel, with stlrring:
Parts_bx~weiqht
Wat~r 834
Soluble CoffeQ Powder 52
Potassiu~ bicarbonate 3.5
Disodium phospha~e 1.6
The pH is ~hen m~a~uredO The pH of the dissolved soluble
coffeP is about ~ and the pH of the solution will nor~ally be
within the targe~ rangQ o~ 6.8 to 7.2. If the pH is below
6.8, additional disodium phosphate is added. For example, i~ -
the pH meas~res fro~ 6.75 to 6.8, thQ addition of abou~ 1/4
part by weight o~ disodium phosphate will su~ic~ to brlng the
solution pH to ~ valu~ within th~ target range. In th~s
exa~ple, th~ p~ i3 6.9.
Tha following aqueous sweetener solution i~ then add~d to
th~ vessel, with Btirring:
Wat~r 1 670
Granulated sugar ~75
9- ~$~-3~
The water employ~d throughout the example is clty water ~hat
has been puri~ied by filtration and ha~ a substantially
neutral pH.
A coloring/flavoring solution, made up as follow~, is
also added to the vessel, while stirring:
Pa~ts bY wei~ht
water 425
Mocha flavor 25
Caramel Color o.~
A homogenized milk solution is made up separately by combining
the following ingredients, ~ollowed by homogenizing:
Pa~ts by weiaht
Water . 835
Dry whole milk 130
Carrageenin ~"Sea Kem GP-41~, 0.65
Marine Colloids)
Uonoglyceride component ("Myverol 3.9
18-07X", Eastman Chemicals Co.)
The dry whol~ milk is first mixed with the water and the
milk is maintained at a temperature of about 160-F to
facilitate dis~olution of th~ gum and emul ifier which are
premixed with about 5 - 10 parts by weight of th~ milk
solution beforQ being blended with the entire ~ilk solution.
The milk ~olution is th~n homog~nized in a two ~tag~ :
homogenizer. Preasure in th~ final stage is about 5000 psi in
the first stagQ and about 500 psl in the second s~aga, and ~he
temperatur~ i8 about 170 - 175-F.
Tha milk solution i~ then introduced into tha ve~el with
stlrring. The p~ of th~ re~ulting beverage mixturQ i~ 6.9,
well within the targ~t range o~ ~.8 to 7.2 and containad 3%
milk solid~, 0.75% milk fat, 0.09% monoqlyceride compon~nt,
and 0. 015% carrageenin. The b~verage mixture i~ th~n bottled
in 8 fluid ounce glas~ bottles and hermetically ~ealed. The
-- 10 --
3 ~ ~
~ottles are retorted at 246~F for 14 minutes to provide a
sterilized, shelf-3table beverage ~nd to decompo~e
substantially all of the potassium bicarbonate to pokas~ium
hydroxide and carbon dioxide, ~e~ulting in a reduction in pH
to 6.4, well ~ithin the target range of 6.3 to 6.5. The
ready-to-drink iced cappuccino beverage so produced is shelf-
stable for nine months at a temperature of 35 to 90 F, and
retains excellent orqanoleptic properties typical of this type
of beverage.
EXAMP~B ~
Example 1 is followed except that pectin ("Genupectin LM
12 CG, Hercules) is substituted for the carrageenin component.
The resulting ready-to-drink bev~rage product is shel~-stable
for nine months at a temperature of 35 to 90-F, and retains
excellent organoleptic propertie~ typical of this typa of
beverage.
~EXAMP~8_3-31
The procedure of Example 1 is followed except that the
amount and~or nature of the stabiliæer component are varied
as reported in the table which follow~. The bo~tled ready-to-
drink beverages are left completely undi~turbed ~or two weeks
and then inspec~d for the formation of a milk ring and/or for
flavor. Re ults for thQ products o~ Examples ~ and 2 are also
reported.
s;~ ~ ~
Exa~ Stabili2~r Na2HP04 ~HC~3 Re~ule
~X) tX) ~X~
Y ~23 0 09 0.04 o.oa No ~iilk Ring
carr~ge~nin 0.015
Pectin~ 0 0195 0~04 0.08 No ~ilk Ring
3 Carrag~enin(2) 0.015 0.03 0.09 t~ilk ~ing
4 Carrage2nint4) 0.015 0.03 0-09 tiil~ Ring
S carrageenin~2) 0.015 0.03 o.os~5) ~ilk Ring
6 Carrageenint2) 0.015 0.03 0.09 Le3~ Ring, Off~
Lecithin 0.01 Flavor
7 Carrogeenin(2) 0.015 0.03 0.07 tiilk ~ing
Monoglyceride~6) 0.025 Improvi
8 Carrageenin~2)6 0.015 0.03 0.09 ~Imort No
Mor~glyceridet 3 0.02 ~ilk Ring
9 ~cacia Gwm 0.01 0.03 0.09 ~IIk ~ing
Acacia Gu~ 0.02 0.03 0.09 Mllk Ring
11 carrcoe~nin~) 0.025 0.03 0-09 ~Im~t No
Hcnogl~cerir~6) 0.02 Milk Ring
12 Corrag~nin~4) 0.025 0.03 0.07 ~ilk Ring,
Caprol 7 0.01 0ff-flavor
10G-10-O~ )
13 Carr~go~nin~4) 8 0.025 0.03 0-07 Hil~ Ring
Caprol 10G-2-O~ 3 0.01 0ff-fl~vo;
14 Corrrgo~n~n~4) 9 0.025 0.03 0-07 tiil~ Rir~,
Caprol 10G-2-0~ ) 0.01 0ff-flavor
Carrog ~ i~) 0.025 0.03 0.07 Mllk Ring
t~Qn 80 ) 0.01
16 C~rra ~ ;~4) 0.025 0.03 0.07 Hil~ Rir~
Sp~ 80 0.01
17 carr~5t4) 0.02s 0.03 0.07 ~ a~r~
T~Q~n 89 ) 0.0C5
Sp~n 80~11) 0.005 -`
1a Carr ~ ;j~4) 0.025 0.03 0.07 ~iilk Rin~,
t~con ~ 11 ) 0.015 Otf~ vor
Sp~n ~i ) 0.015
19 C~rr~g~ n~2)1 0.02 0.03 0.07 Ko llil~ Ring
Hr~noglycGridb~ 2) 0.05/.07/.08
C~rragcenin~2) 8 0.02 0.03 0.07 Hilk Ring
Caprol 10G-2-0~ ) .3
21 C~rr~o-~nin~4) 9 0.02 0.03 0.07 ~llk Rir~
Caprol 10G-4-0~ ) .3
~ 1 2 - 2 ~ 4
2~ Csrra9 ~(4) 0 02 0.03 0-07 ~ilk ~ing
Sp~n 80 ) 0.015
23 Csrr~geenin~2)12 0.02 0.04 0-07 Slight Milk 2irg
Mono~lycorido( ~ O.OS
24 Carrc~eenin(2)13 0.015 0.03 0.08 Hilk Ring
Monoglyceridet ~ 0.05
Carr~geenin(2)14 0.015 0.03 0.0~ Ullk Rir~
Mor~oglyceridet ) 0.04~.03/.05
26 Carra~e2nin~2) 15 0.015 0.03 O.OA Hilk Rlng
Sant~n 10-10-0( ) 0.09
27 Carrrgeenin(2)l 0.015 0.03 o.oa Uilk Ring
Honoqlyceridet ) 0.03
28 C~rrrgeenin~2)1z 0.015 0.03 -~ ~ilk Ring Mon~lycerig~ ) O.OZ5
Alonato 100~ 6) .25
29 Carr~gecnin~2)12 0.015 0.03 0.08 Uilk Rir~
Mor~glycerig~ ) 0.02S
~lanat~ ~80~ 6) .25
C~rrage~nin~2) 0.015 0.03 o.oa ~ilk ~irg
Sodium Ste-ryl .03/.05
Lactylnto
3I CDrr~geenin~2) 0.015 0.03 0.0 Curdled
Sodiu~ Ste~ry~ 1.05
L~ctyl ~o
t1) Hyverol 18-07K ~vegot~bl~ oiL derived)
t2) 5~9 Ke~ GP-418
t3) Genupectin L~ 12CC
(4) Gelc~rin GP-379
(5) Pot393~u~ Citr-t~
t6) Myverol 18-00 ~ni~3l f~t dkrived)
~7) Dec~glycerol dec~ ote~ta
~8) Decaglycerol di oleote
~.) Occ~lycorol tetra olest~
t10) Polyothylon- oxi~Q ~orbitLn ~ono~olQ~t~
t11) Sorbit~n ~ono-ol-~t-
t12) ~yverol 18-tk6 ~v-:etdbl~ oil dariv~d)
~13) ~yv~to~ 8 tb ~cc--sir~ 20X v~gotrblo oil)
~14) Myvatox a-l~ tcon~2in~ 20X ve~t~blo oil)
t15) Trlglyc-rol moncato~r~tQ
~16) Sodiu~ Ca-ol~t~
